


Conveniently Dependable

by Multifandom_damnation



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Assassination Attempt(s), BAMF Isabelle Lightwood, Background Isabelle Lightwood/Meliorn, Background Simon Lewis/Isabelle Lightwood, Gen, How Do I Tag, Minor Original Character(s), Power Dynamics, Protective Simon Lewis, Unrequited Lust, and saves them at the last minute, and they do the same for him, basically simon looks after his friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 11:54:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18446033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation
Summary: Simon, for all his faults, has impeccable timing. And sometimes, he always ends up saving the day when his friends (and not so friends) need it most. Luckily, Simon is always more than willing to lend a helping hand, even when the people he helps don't know they need it until it's almost too late.(AKA every time Simon arrives to help his friends out of a sticky situation at the last minute and the one time they help him)





	Conveniently Dependable

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to add Maia and Jordain but I really couldn't be bothered in the end. Let me know if I need to add any tags because this was really hard to do.

They were seated at the bench in the park, Magnus's arm slung over the back of the bench, Alec leaning on his shoulder. "It's a lovely day," Magnus observed, glancing up at the sky. "A cloudless day. We don't get many of those." It was true- the sky was a bright blue and for the first time in a long time, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, grey or otherwise. It was almost a shame- Magnus  had planned on watching the clouds with Alec and he would be offended if it wasn’t so beautiful  
  
"It's almost as beautiful as you are," Alec hummed into the warlocks skin, breathing in the scent of exotic ingredients and foods and the perfume Magnus knew Alec liked.  
  
"Now that’s a sweet thought to hold on to," Magnus smiled, running his tanned fingers through Alec's raven hair. "But you don't need to do that. I know how much you love me without needing to be compared with the seven wonders of the world."  
  
Before Alec could reply, a grouping of dark shadows swooped into their vision and the couple detached themselves from each other. Before them stood a large gang of werewolves, too many to be considered friendly, and the one wearing a leather jacket and a red baseball cap sneered down at him. "This is cute," he said and behind him, the other wolves snickered.   
  
Alec sighed internally and sat up straighter. "Listen, I don't know what pack you belong to but Luke Garroway won't be pleased when he finds out you've been pestering a Shadowhunter for no reason."  
  
"Well, then it's a good thing this doesn't concern you," the wolf turned his attention from Alec to Magnus. "Word on the street is that you've lost your magic."  
  
"Word travels fast," Magnus sighed. "I'd just forgotten how fast..."  
  
"Now we can ask you for that potion we wanted and you can't really refuse." He got really close to Magnus' face, so close the warlock could smell his breath. "Can you?"  
  
Furious, Alec pushed the wolf away and gripped his leather jacket in one hand to keep the wolf at bay. "Back off."  
  
"Why don't you make us?"  
  
From somewhere off to the side someone politely cleared their throat and suddenly the werewolves shot backwards and Simon stood before Alec and Magnus. "Hey Jackson, get lost."   
  
"This doesn't concern you, vampire," Jackson growled and the wolves behind him growled in unison. Jackson's eyes glowed an acidic green. "Step aside."  
  
"You know what? I don't think so." Simon crossed his arms as he stood his ground. "And there isn't much you can do to make me change my mind, is there?" He tapped his forehead and the wolves recoiled slightly. "I don't want you getting hurt because then I'd have to explain to Luke why I'm bringing his pack members back to the Jade Wolf in body bags. Go on, shoo." He waved his hand at him  
  
Jackson snarled as he stuck his hands in his pockets. The group followed him as he shifted away. "This isn't over." He warned.  
  
"Yes, it is," Simon said evenly, keeping eye contact with the wolf. "Go home, Jackson. And stay away from them or you'll regret it."  
  
As the pack slunk away, Simon kept his eyes on their retreating backs until he couldn't see them anymore. He turned back to the seat where Alec and Magnus were staring at him with wide eyes. "Phew. That was exciting. You guys alright?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks, Simon," Alec said and Simon smiled down at him. "That was... pretty cool."  
  
"I must say, that was perfect timing." Magnus raised an eyebrow and Simon shrugged. "What are you doing out here?"  
  
Simon waved his hand in a vague gesture. "I'm going to meet Rebecca at the cafe and thought it was easier to cross through the park. Speaking of which..." he said as he passed them and patted Alec on the back. "Enjoy the rest of the sun, love birds!"

* * *

 Isabelle was seated at the bar, one leg crossed over the other as she nursed her drink in her hand. She was listening to the music from the band at the other end of the bar and the gaggle of sweaty, dancing people rubbing up against themselves and singing along to the music.

The bite of the alcohol on her tongue was sweet and burned the back of her throat as it went down but a burn she enjoyed all the same. Behind her, there were a couple of vampires making out in a corner, hands clutching one another and faces hidden by their long, ivory hair.

For the entirety of the night, she had managed to ignore the faerie who had been making kissy faces and googly eyes at her from the other side of the bar, her fingers tapping repeatedly on the sticky wood. He had long hair that was slicked back and died a pastel pink and thought he and Magnus would have gotten along if not for how much Magnus didn’t trust the fae or how this particular faerie was looking at Isabelle. She tried not to glance at him too much, despite how much he was staring at her, but sometimes the overhead lights glinted off of the many rings on his fingers in just the right way and they sparked in her eye, causing her to look over in annoyance. He smirked at her every time.

Eventually, the faerie gave up in being subtle and slid over to her with his drink in hand and sat in the vacant seat beside her. Isabelle immediately regretted not putting her leg on the seat. “Hey there, I’m Melvyn,” the fae greeted with a shit-eating grin. “You must be Isabelle. I’ve heard much about you and your family.” He glanced around the room and lowered his voice to a whisper. “How about we take this conversation… somewhere more private?”

“Or,” Isabelle suggested. “You can take your drink and go find someone else to bother.” She took a sip from her glass and ignored Melvyn’s frown. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I wasn’t interested before and I sure as hell aren’t interested now.”

“Oh come now,” Melvyn laughed as if he were sharing a joke with an old friend. “You can’t pretend like you’re not interested. We all know that you find fae attractive- we know of your exploits down below the river. It’s one of the most talked about topics back in the kingdom. Who can bed Isabelle Lightwood first?”

“And you believe that you’re the one to do it?” Isabelle could feel the fury bubbling up inside her like an over-boiled pot and she finally turned her eyes to Melvyn so she could send him her most ferocious glare. To his credit, Melvyn only shifted away slightly. “I’d say I’m impressed with your cockiness, but not by your stupidity. I’m not interested, end of story. Get out of my face.”

Melvyn sniggered and placed a hand on Isabelle’s arm and held on tightly when she tried to pull away. Izzy could easily get out of his hold, break his wrist and make him sorry for ever approaching her in the first place, but she didn’t exactly want to start anything with the Downworld and put her brother under any more stress. “Playing hard to get? I like that. How about you come with me back to my place and I can show you how hard _I_ can get…”

Isabelle recoiled and pulled her arm away but Melvyn stood up and followed her, moving into her space until the smell of his cheap cologne suffocated her. “What part of ‘ _I’m not interested’_ do you not understand? You sleaze, let me go-”

Before Melvyn could comment a cold person in a graphic-tee and a guitar case in one hand slid up to Isabelle and slung one arm around her back. “Hey babe,” Simon greeted, placing a kiss on her cheek. “I’m glad you could make it.” He glanced at Melvyn, who was looking between Isabelle and Simon with horror and disgust. “This guy wasn’t annoying you, was he?”

“No,” Isabelle said, smirking at Melvyn as he slowly sunk away. “He was just leaving.” All at once, Melvyn turned on his heel and stormed out of the bar without looking back. Isabelle glanced up at Simon. “Thanks for the save.”

“Not that you really needed any help,” Simon laughed, sitting in Melvyn’s recently vacated seat and setting his guitar on the ground. “I could hear you telling him to get lost from the moment I walked in. I waited in case you managed to get rid of him yourself but he didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer.” He shrugged. “Most fae can’t."

Izzy laughed and clapped Simon on the shoulder. “Not bad, for a vampire. What are you doing here, anyway?”

Simon held up his guitar and gestured with his chin towards the stage where the band was finishing their final song. “I’ve got a gig tonight; I didn’t want to miss it. You can stay and watch if you’d like but I can’t promise I won’t be terrible.” The band finished their song and Simon stood up. “That’s my cue. See you later!”

* * *

Jace has always had a habit of biting off more than he could chew and tonight was no exception as he stood in the alleyway and dozens of demons leapt from the rooftop to join him in the small space. With as many that fell to his blade two more replaced it until he was hacking and slashing without any real direction or tact in a desperate attempt to stay alive. He shouldn’t have gone out alone, he knew that, and he most certainly shouldn’t have gone out without telling anyone where or that he even had but he had needed an outlet for his anger and his distress so when he had heard about the horde of demons he had jumped into it head first.

There was so much blood coating him and his blades and every available surface, so much so that Jace couldn’t tell which was his and which were the demons. It may have been the black ooze that demons sometimes melted into when they were sent back to Edom but it was too dark for Jace to tell. He wasn’t really sure where the demons ended and he began.

He didn’t know how long he had been fighting for but he knew his body was getting tired, that he ached in more places that he could count and that his voice had been screamed hoarse. He had been finished ages ago, his anger slightly more dissipated then when he had woken up in the morning yet he hadn’t been able to stop- if he stopped fighting for even a second he would be torn to pieces with the claws and fangs of demons hungry for Shadowhunter blood.

Just as Jace was about to give in and give up, to let the demons take his body and take his soul so he could no longer feel any pain at all, there was a ferocious hiss from above them and Jace had the thought that maybe the leader had come to claim it’s prize? As he glanced up, the fight forgotten, the form leapt off of the roof and tackled him to the ground where he landed in a puddle of blood and body parts. Just when Jace was expecting the pain of being torn asunder and devoured, there was a cacophonous blast of blue energy and a bright light shone in his face and there was silence in the alley.

When Jace could finally breathe air into his lungs and the person- for he knew it was a person now, not a demon with a wide-open maw and pincers- moved off of him, Jace was able to take a good look at the glowing blue mark on his forehead. “Simon? What the hell are you going here?”

“What am I doing here?” Simon squeaked, voice high and frightened. “I think I should be asking you that same question. I could smell the blood from a mile away and I climbed the fire escape to see if anyone needed help. God Jace, you’re a mess. Let me get you back to the Institute.”

“I’m fine,” Jace feebly pushed him away and sat up, his back against the wall. “I don’t need your help- get off of me.” He wrenched his arm free from Simon’s grasp. “I don’t need to go to the Institute.”

Simon pursed his lips but didn’t comment. “How about a deal then? If you come back with me to the Boathouse so I can make sure you’re not hurt under all that blood, then I’ll let you leave and nobody will have to know about what just happened except you and me.” He paused for a moment and looked up towards the roof he had leapt off. “An Alec, if he felt you through your bond.”

Jace glared up at him. “You’re not going to give me any other option, are you?”

“No, and you can’t really get away from me anyway. I’m stronger than you at the best of times and at the moment you’re just pathetic.” Simon helped Jace stand, supporting most of his weight and made their way to the place Simon was calling home.

* * *

 Luke growled as he was shoved backwards, his shoulders bunched up around his ears and his eyes glowing green as he tried to resist the transformation that was calling to him, begging to be realised. Before him stood a few members of his pack, all snarling at him. “We’ve already told you, Garroway,” Peter said, stalking forward. “We think it’s time for some new leadership. You’re not doing a good enough job.”

“And you think you’re the one to overthrow me?” Luke asked, backing up. “You really think you’re up for the challenge of being responsible for the whole pack?”

“Who knows?” Peter asked, following Luke’s retreat. Behind him, Alison and Nicola fanned out and approached Luke so he was boxed into an impossible position. “I won’t know unless I give it a go, huh?” They shoved Luke up against the boat shed.

They held Luke’s arms down against the shed and when he tried to shake them off, both Alison and Nicola just laughed at his face, baring their fangs at his neck. “You’ve obviously got your issues with my leadership.” Luke snapped. “What have I done that’s so terrible that you’re planning a mutiny?”

“Well, you’ve let a vampire into our ranks for starters,” Peter said as he approached, slowly and deliberately as though Luke was supposed to feel threatened. “You almost let him live in our lively hood and he would have if the others hadn’t forced him out. Now he lives in our home- too close to us for comfort.”

“Simon?” Luke demanded, outraged.  “He was family before he was turned and he will forever be family no matter what. I thought we were past that.”

Peter was right up in Luke’s face now and he grabbed Luke’s head and shoved it into the wall of the boathouse, a metal ringing echoing through the tin. “Well, regardless, let’s just say he’s only one of the many complaints the pack has about your leadership.” Peter produced a wickedly sharp pocket knife from the inside pocket of his jacket and flicked it open.

“This is gutless, Peter.” Luke snarled. “You should fight me like a man and pass on the tradition as you should instead of using a knife like a coward.”

Shrugging, Peter twirled the knife in his fingers. “Tradition doesn’t matter if there isn’t anyone around to see it through.” The blade glinted in the sunlight as it dove for Luke’s ribcage and their world exploded in blinding blue light.

When the dancing spots from Luke’s eyes he saw that all three of the wolves had been thrown back and they sat sprawled on the ground. Simon blocked Luke from their sight, his hands clenched at his side. “You should know better than to talk shit about a vampire when he’s living in the place you’re banging on.” Simon snarled. “And you should know how fast we move, Daylighter or not.” He nodded towards the Jade Wolf. “Get out of here.”

The back door slammed open and Maia flew out with Bat on her heels, both looking confused and frightened. Maia seemed on edge and ready for a fight but Bat was hiding slightly behind her and the wall. Luke levelled Peter, Nicola and Alison with a narrow-eyed glare. “We’ll discuss your punishment in the morning. Maia will take you to the back room. But for now, get lost.” Without inquiring about the situation, Maia diligently grabbed the arms of both Peter and Nicola while Bat hesitantly who took hold of Alison and dragged them back inside the Jade Wolf. Luke turned to Simon and shook his hand. “Thanks for the save man.”

“It’s all good,” Simon grinned. “I’m just glad I realized what was going on in time. Put my hand in the way just in time,” He laughed, tugging Luke towards the entrance of the boatshed. “Come in for a bit, I’ve got some coffee and some stronger stuff if you need that after a day like this.”

* * *

 Raphael snapped and snarled as a group of his fellow vampires dragged him into the sunlight, his legs skidding on the loose gravel and doing nothing in adding his movement. “Let go of me you fools!” he growled, trying to jerk his arm away.

“No way,” Rodney laughed, and the chain he was carrying jangled when he cackled low in his chest. “That crazy Heidi bitch had a good idea, tying you up and waiting for the sun to rise. I don’t know why we didn’t think of that beforehand.”

Sid cackled as Raphael’s head hit a rock particularly hard and kicked him in the side. “The others will punish you for this, regardless of what happens to me,” Raphael warned. “You will not get away with this for however long you have left to live.”

His warnings fell on deaf ears as the vampires continued to laugh and jeer above him and he continued to try to free himself from their hold. Vampires were stronger than regular humans but one vampire, even one as old as Raphael, was in no way able to remove himself from the grasp of 6 very determined vampires. “Where are we taking him again?” One of the newest of their group asked- Sam, Raphael thought- “There isn’t any sun here.”

“We’ll take him to the broken window on the top floor,” Theodore replied. “Don’t worry, I’ve been staking out this place since we started discussing what to do with him. There’s a big window all the way on the top and once we tie him up with the chain, we just need to wait for the sun to be in the right position and then we watch him burn.”

“You morons,” Raphael hissed. “You’ll burn too!” Once again, he was ignored.

He wasn’t sure how long they dragged him up the many levels of the old, dilapidated building but at some point, he gave up struggling just so they could get him to their destination faster. Above him, they talked and they chatted as if dragging their leader through an abandoned complex was something they did on a rather common occasion, but Raphael was in no position to complain. When they finally, ultimately brought him up to the first floor, he was almost asleep, and the rattling of chains and the cool metal winding around his legs woke him from his stupor. “Have you idiots come to your senses yet?” There was no answer. “You are not Heidi. You will not receive the same leniency that she did.”

Sid crouched down in Raphael’s face and the older vampire wondered briefly if the young fledgling had ever brushed his teeth. “Well, it’s a good thing that nobody’s around to see this, so nobody’s going to catch us.”

“Yeah,” Theo snorted. “Which means we’re going to get away with this scot free. Nobody’s here to save you this time, Santiago, so don’t get your hopes up.”

Raphael was about to reply with some witty comment but before he could so much as utter a word, a leather boot landed on his chest and he looked up through the glare of the light streaming in past the dirty window at Simon, who had his hands crossed on his chest and a frown on his lips. Sunlight fell gracefully against his snow white skin and he looked around at the other vampires with a raised, unimpressed eyebrow. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Some of the smarter vampires had already disappeared and run far away but Sid, Rodney and Theodore remained. Sid laughed in Simon’s face. “Why don’t you make us, Daylighter?”

Snarling, Simon bared his fangs and took some steps into the sunlight and by the time he had reached a hand out to pull Sid into the sun, the three of them had already gone, disappeared down the stairs. Simon looked down at Raphael and held a hand out to lift him up. “Sorry about standing on your jacket, I just thought it would look cool. I heard all your shouting and thought I should check it out. Come on, let’s see what bars are open. I think we could both use a drink.”

* * *

 When Clary came back, she never would have expected that one of the first things to happen was the rigorous interrogation and the dirty, suspicious looks her fellow Shadowhunters would shoot at her when they thought she wasn’t looking. Even Jace, with his soft touches and kind words and passionate kisses, couldn’t distract Clary from all the prying eyes.

There were days when Johnathon’s pull on her very being would be too strong and her mind would call out, searching for him and his presence and beg him to be beside her, and Clary would hate herself for it. She tried to keep her head high when the others at the Institute would stare at her a little too long, their eyes a little too cold, but it was more of a struggle than she ever expected it to be. But if she was being honest with herself, it was never anything she had expected.

It all came to a head when Clary, once again lost in her own mind, didn’t notice the new Shadowhunter from the London Institute stand in front of her with a frown on his face and his arms crossed against his chest. He didn’t move, not even when Clary almost bumped into him. “Oh, sorry, my bad. I didn’t see you there.”

“You have become quite an enigma, Clarrisa Morgenstern.” His voice was clipped and low and Clary wondered what she had done to piss her off. “What you have been through… _claim_ to have been through is more than any normal Shadowhunter could ever endure. Have you yet to wonder why you did?”

Clary took an instinctual step back and tried to get away from his cold, piercing eyes that seemed to burn their way into her very soul. “What are you talking about? I’m not claiming anything- it really did happen. Haven’t I told you, people, enough?”

“It’s never enough,” He took a step forward, effectively towering over Clary and making her previous retreat useless. “Not until you truly give us the information we need. Not until you tell us what that rune is that has been so carelessly carved into you. And not until we wheedle out of you all those lies you’ve been hiding and all the things your brother has planned.”

“Well, that’s where you’re little intimidate-and-interrogate technique is going wrong,” Clary did her best to meet his eyes, but he was much taller than her, and his eyes were burning with smite and hatred. “I’ve already told you everything. It’s not my fault if you don’t believe it.”

He looked about to say something more, face twisted up in a gruesome, ugly way, but then Simon was a startlingly cool yet familiar presence at her side, one hand on her arm and his eyes sizing up the British Nephilim like he posed more of a threat than he really did. “Is there a problem here?” When nobody replied, Simon pushed Clary behind him slightly so that he was blocking her and effectively protecting her from the new Shadowhunter. “Michael? Is there a problem?”

“No,” Michael smiled coolly at Clary. “No problem. I was just having a chat with young Miss Morgenstern. She has been through quite a lot. I merely wanted to make sure she was well.”

Simon didn’t look convinced. “Yeah, sure.” He tapped his ears. “Vampire hearing, remember? If I hadn’t already heard everything you’d said I could practically smell your bullshit. Leave Clary alone. I’m not joking. If I see you talking to her again, I’m going to make you regret it. And you know I will.”

Michael’s fake smile fell from his face and he pushed past Clary and Simon without another word. When he was completely out of earshot, Clary watched Simon’s tense shoulders relax as she tugged at the hem of his shirt. “Thanks for that. I’ve never seen that guy before. I had no idea why he was asking me all those questions.”

“Don’t worry about it,” He reassured, turning to face her with a goofy grin on his face. “Michael’s an asshole, he has been since he got here. But forget about him. Are we still going to go get a coffee or what, Fray?”

“Yeah,” Clary laughed, hand slipping easily into Simon’s outstretched one, no longer surprised at how different his temperature was. “Let’s go. But you’re paying, Lewis. Being dead takes a lot out of you and one of those things is money.”

Simon winked at her. “And I should know.”

* * *

 If he was being honest, Simon really should have known better than to walk alone through a dark, dingy ally in the middle of the night. He wasn’t all that worried about getting hurt, but getting jumped by muggers was never fun and even less fun was what would happen if they attacked him in any way. His hands were in his pockets and his head was down but he still heard the shifting of feet behind him and he spun around just as a black-clad man jumped onto him and pushed him into the wall. “Hey man, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Simon demanded.

The man who had him pressed against the wall reached up and pulled down his hood to reveal a shaved head covered in inky black runes. The group of men that were with him all wore the same sort of clothing and each of them had their own set of runes. “Oh, Shadowhunters. I don’t know what you’re doing but there’s probably some sort of law about attacking unsuspecting Downworlders in the middle of the night like this. Do you even know who I am? Don’t make me call Alec or Jace.”

He was very displeased when he heard the other Shadownters laughing and he frowned at them as a wickedly long, glowing seraph blade was removed from the hidden recesses of his attacker’s robes and held against Simon’s throat. His skin stung and blistered with the contact. “Are you guys with the Circle? Are you with Johnathan?”

“That, vampire, is none of your business.” The man growled in Simon’s face as the seraph blade was pressed deeper into his skin.

“Oh, well I’m glad you’re calling me a vampire and not Daylighter.” Simon gulped, trying to retreat further into the wall but the brick was unforgiving against his back. “Listen, guys, you have to know who I am. I don’t think you should attack me, not because I’m worried about my safety, but because I don’t want you guys to get hurt, so if you could just take your glowing sword away from my neck and stop standing so close to me I’m sure we can just talk this out.”

Again, they laughed at him, and Simon felt the urge to bolt. He could- pull away and run down the alley and be gone before they even know he had broken free, but somehow he thought that wouldn’t work too well with this bunch. “One down,” A raspy voice said and he turned to see another, older man with a bow slung over his shoulder. “About a few hundred left.”

Simon prepared himself for the sudden blast of blinding blue light to illuminate the alleyway and the pained cries of all the men collapsing in a heap, but it never came and he opened his eyes to see a very confused looking man with a shining, golden whip wrapped around his wrist.

At the end of the alley stood Isabelle, one hand on her hip and her whip curled around her fingers, eyes fierce and heels as high as ever. “Just what,” She said quietly and he sweet voice dripped with a candied venom. “Do you think you’re doing with my boyfriend?”

The alley was still. Simon was almost too shocked about Isabelle being there and calling him her _boyfriend_ that he nearly missed the blue feathered arrow that pierced the shoulder of one of the men and the shock of ferocious, blond hair that darted between rows of men, sending them spiralling to the ground in a screaming mass of blood.

A wave of red hair was blurring Simon’s vision and then a very angry Clary was there, one hand holding Simon’s arm and the other pointing a shortsword carved with familiar runes against the other man's neck, forcing him to pull the seraph blade away from Simon. “Back up,” She snapped and when he didn’t move, Isabelle yanked hard on her whip and he went tumbling backwards, blade skidding away. Out of the shadows, Luke strolled out and placed his foot on the sword as it landed near him. The blade dimmed and retreated back into its sheath.

Clary pulled Simon away from all the fighting and pushed him beside Alec, who was standing on a dumpster as he fired well-aimed arrows at men who got too close to him and his friends. Simon was breathing hard and ducked as a vile of liquid that he could only assume was holy water of some sort was thrown at him but Luke was there, catching it out of thin air as if he had trained his whole life for it. Simon catalogued it away for later that werewolves’ reflexes were almost as good as vampires.

The fight came to an end with the spurting of blood as Jace slid his blade across the exposed skin of a man's throat and he fell to the ground, gurgling and choking on his own blood. There was so much red exposed among everything that Simon felt the urge to cover his mouth and nose from the smell but he didn’t have to worry about that for long because Isabelle was wrapping her arms around him and he was nearly overwhelmed by the scent of her strong perfume. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

He squeezed her back just as tightly. “So am I. That was… a more eventful night than I had expected to have tonight.” He glanced around the group; Alec with his bow still drawn and an arrow notched in the stick surveyed the alley as if he were waiting for a sneak attack, Clary stayed close to him and kept on hand on Simon’s arm at all times, Isabelle gripped him like she was worried he would slip away, Luke watched him with blood on his boots and a relieved smile wrinkling his face and Jace was coated in more blood than Simon thought would have been possible as he buzzed from the fight but his eyes on Simon’s were concerned. “How did you know…?”

“Raphael came to the Institute,” Alec replied, still not looking at Simon but sounding worried all the same. “He said he watched what happened but didn’t want to get involved in case he made matters worse.”

“I’m sorry we weren’t here sooner,” Clary said. “Traffic was terrible.”

Simon glanced up and thought he saw a glance of a tall, slim figure illuminated by the moonlight before they disappeared swiftly back into the darkness. “Actually, I think you got here just in time.” He glanced around at his friends, his _family,_ and realized for the first time in a long time, he was well and truly loved. “Thanks for the save, guys.”

Jace moved over and clapped him on the shoulder, smearing blood all over his favourite jacket but Simon couldn’t bring himself to care because this was the first time Jace was looking at him like that and he wanted to cherish the moment. “Don’t sweat it. We owe you one anyway.”

“Besides,” Isabelle purred, running a warm hand down his cool cheek. “You’ve always done the same for us.”


End file.
